A new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has opened at Sheppey Community Hospital in Minster providing patients on the Isle of Sheppey, Sittingbourne and surrounding areas to a range of vital tests and scans closer to home.
The first phase of the multi-million pound project has launched with Computerised Tomography (CT) scanning, with the second phase to include Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning next year.
In Medway and Swale, patients have access to two CDCs, with the first – located at Rochester Healthy Living Centre on Delce Road – having opened in August 2023. Since then, it has delivered more than 6,000 diagnostic tests including ultrasound scans, and respiratory and cardiology services.
Both sites are staffed by Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham and the Frailty Unit at Sheppey Community Hospital. Work will continue to develop the centres in the New Year, with the aim of providing services up to seven days a week, and 12 hours a day, according to demand.
62-year-old patient Paul O’Connor (pictured), from Minster, was among the first patients to have a CT scan at the new unit in Sheppey. Paul explained the ease of attending the appointment so close to his home in Minster, which avoided the need to travel to a main hospital building in Medway or further afield.
